Apprenticeships Can Engineer Skills for the Future

Posted on the 15 March 2018

An engineering giant has
championed an innovative training scheme as a way of boosting the uptake of
apprenticeships and helping the region’s manufacturing industry build
sustainable workforces for the future.

Ford Engineering Group has joined forces with Gateshead
College to deliver a six-month traineeship which equips young people with the
attitudes, skills and knowledge required to start an apprenticeship in this
sector.

As a result of the programme, Ford Engineering has been able
to strengthen its skills base with the recruitment of four talented
apprentices.

Three seventeen-year-olds – Reece Bell from Washington,
Matthew Reilly from Jarrow and South Shields teenager Kieron Drew – will work
at Ford Aerospace in South Shields, where they will learn key skills in
precision machining, tooling and product quality control.

A fourth engineering apprentice, 16-year-old Liam Rowden,
will ply his trade at North Shields-based Ford Components, which supplies
pressed components to the automotive sector and related industries.

Matthew said: “I’ve really enjoyed my time at Ford Aerospace
so far. The traineeship has given me the initial skills, experience and
confidence I needed and now I can continue to learn my trade on the shop floor
whilst earning a wage.”

Liam is one of 28 candidates who will shortly complete the
programme, which equips trainees with core skills and competencies needed for
key engineering tasks such as preparing and using milling machines and lathes,
and producing mechanical engineering drawings using computer aided design (CAD)
technology. The programme also covers health and safety, work preparation
methods, and literacy and numeracy skills which allow students to gain
essential English and maths qualifications.

As part of the traineeship, the students embark on a
four-week work placement which provides valuable experience of a real-life
engineering environment and are given the chance to secure a formal interview
at the end of the programme. They study at Gateshead College’s purpose-built Skills Academy for Automotive, Engineering, Manufacturing
and Logistics, which has benefited from a recent investment in
state-of-the-art, cutting-edge machinery and tooling equipment.

Ford Engineering and Gateshead College run the traineeship
to help manufacturing and engineering firms tackle
skills shortages and create sustainable workforces for the future. The scheme
also allows Ford Engineering
to create a work-ready pipeline of talent for its apprenticeship programme,
with places reserved for the best candidates who demonstrate their skills and
aptitudes on the traineeship.
Those who don’t get a place on the programme are supported by the company in
their attempts to find an apprenticeship with another engineering firm.

Geoff Ford MBE, chairman at
Ford Engineering, said: “I’m a firm advocate of apprenticeships. The
engineering and manufacturing industries need an influx of new skills, which is
why we teamed up with Gateshead College to run the traineeship – a vital
stepping stone to progress onto an apprenticeship.

“It’s great to work with an
organisation that understands the needs of our business and the wider
engineering sector. Schemes like this will help to protect the future of the
industry, boost the economy and prepare more young people for the world of work.”

Ivan Jepson, director of business development at Gateshead
College, said: “Securing an apprenticeship can be difficult for some
individuals and this intense training programme provides students with the
opportunity to get the skills,
experience and qualifications they need to become an apprentice.

“Our aim is to help employers build workforces which make
their businesses more productive and competitive. This is particularly
important for the engineering sector, which has traditionally suffered from key
skills shortages.

“We work with forward-thinking employers, including Ford
Engineering, to help them plug skills gaps and access skills that can generate
business growth. In doing so, we also introduce
more young people to the world of STEM (science, technology, engineering and
mathematics) and give them the tools to forge a successful career in these
industries.”

This is the latest milestone in a long-standing relationship
between Gateshead College and Ford Engineering. The college runs
apprenticeships at Ford’s sites across the region, and has also managed a
project to upskill its employees and provide them with exciting engineering
career opportunities.